CHINA DAILY FRIDAY, AUGUST 3, 2012 lifearts 19

EDITOR’S PICKS

Chinese art treats New king of the box offi ce at London Olympics Fans watching the London 2012 Olym- pic Games can take a break from sports to The director of China’s box-offi ce record breaker switched from high-brow fare to mass have a taste of culture. One of the fringe activities is a Chinese entertainment in one fell swoop, taking the industry by surprise, Raymond Zhou writes. art exhibition unveiled at the Royal Acad- emy of Arts in London on Monday. Named China Arts Exhibition, London t is surprising to know that the new 2012, Chinese Elegant Transcending Cul- ture, the exhibition displays 160 Chinese record holder of China’s box offi ce for brush paintings, oil paintings and sculp- a domestic release is a closeted fan of ture works of 35 modern Chinese arts masters. experimental fi lm. Wuershan grew up “Th e exhibition is a showcase of con- temporary Chinese arts,” Liu Xiaoming, on a heavy dose of Alan Resnais and China’s ambassador in the United King- dom, says in his speech. Andrei Tarkovsky, European auteurs Th e seven-day exhibition is jointly whose works are known for being inaccessible. hosted by the China National Academy of I Arts and the China Arts Foundation, with “Whenever they presented Hollywood fare,” says Wuershan, support from the Chinese Ministry of referring to his college exposure to foreign cinema, “I’d get up Culture, the Chinese Embassy in Britain and leave the theater.” and the British Embassy in China. “Coinciding with the London Olympic Painted Skin: Th e Resurrection has just edged over the 700 Games, this exhibition is a perfect integra- million yuan ($109.8 million) landmark, becoming the high- tion of arts and sports,” says Tian Liming, est-grossing Chinese-language movie of all time — for the deputy president of the Chinese National time being. But the director who made it, is not light-hearted Academy of Arts. or basking in the glow of success. He Jiaying, a famous fi ne brushwork fi gure painter, brought his painting Vic- Th e runaway hit is the target of an avalanche of criticisms — tory Goddess to the exhibition to extend some have been brushed aside or responded to by Wuershan his best wishes to London. Th e painting in a lengthy video interview with China Daily. was done to mark the holding of the 2008 Th e snow mountain, which detractors say resembles the Olympic Games in Beijing. Paramount logo, was a matte painting based on a photograph Aft er London, the arts exhibition will tour China to showcase the achievements of a real peak in Tibet. “All snow mountaintops look a bit simi- of Chinese artists, who have followed lar,” says the 40-year-old director. world art trends closely. Th e wizard of the kingdom of Tianlang, played by Chinese- American singer Kris Phillips, is disparaged as looking uncom- — ZHANG CHUNYAN fortably like Lord Voldemort. Th e image, clarifi es the director, is actually a mishmash of nomadic witches and rituals. Th e language spoken by the character is Sanskrit. Th e kingdom is not Han, but a mix of Hun and other races. Asked whether the portrayal of this fi ctional tribe vis-a-vis the upright Han is a “politically incorrect” choice justifi ed only by his own ethnicity (Wuershan is ethnic Mongolian), the director replied that he did not see the tribe as “villains”, but just as “rivals of the Han”. He went on to elucidate that in the mythical era, around 2,000 years ago — the time when the story was set — Hun and the nomadic tribes in Northern China “were the stronger races and the Han could appease their wrath by sending over beautiful girls as brides”. Wuershan is his fi rst name. “Mongolians do not use sur- names. Some would take on their tribal name as the surname, and I had to put down Wuershan in the category of last name Tony Leung takes in my passport and leave XXX as my fi rst name,” he explains. on new challenge “XXX is meant to denote ‘not applicable’, but some have taken Tony Leung, star of In the Mood for it as some sort of stage name for a hip-hop singer.” Love and A City of Sadness, will play He A few years ago when Wuershan made a trip to a local movie Bing in Th e Silent War. theater, he found scarcely any domestic fi lms in the lineup. He Leung plays the hooligan-turned-spy swore that he would make movies big enough to compete with who is super sensitive to sound, though Hollywood. visually impaired. Leung is famous for being expressive He did not give up his fascination with art-house off erings, with his eyes, but this time will wear but he would use the cinematic language he learned from this glasses. Veteran actress Zhou Xun plays somewhat “elitist” fare to tell stories with mass appeal, “movies his boss and love interest. full of spectacles”. Directors Alan Mak and Felix Chong Of the new fi lm “masters”, Wuershan has set his eyes on have made a number of smash hits in the espionage genre, such as Infernal Aff airs Christopher Nolan, David Fincher, Darren Aronofsky and the and Overheard. Wachowskis as his role models — fi lmmakers who turn out Th e fi lm will premiere on Aug 7. blockbusters yet retain their strong personal touch. Wuershan has an analogy for his approach: “My relation- — LIU WEI ship with the audience, as I see it, is that of the chef and the customer, not of the physician and the patient. I prepare a feast, with a rich variety of dishes, and people come for the taste, the fragrance, whatever, and they end up fi nding it has nutrients as well. Likewise, I have to place the entertainment value of a fi lm as top priority, and then its aesthetic value and its probe PROVIDED TO CHINA DAILY into humanity.” Director Wuershan believes fantasy is a genre that fi ts Chinese fi lmmakers as the country has an abundant source of inspiration. During the interview, Wuershan displays a vast knowledge for mythologies and religions. He identifi es the sources for the images of many of Star War’s characters, including Queen Amidala, “one of whose headgear is obviously Mongolian in RE-IMAGINED FANTASY ABOUT LOVE its inspiration”. He marvels at the way Hollywood absorbs from cultures the world over. And he attempts to draw on the Painted Skin: The Resurrec- treasure trove of Asian sources in his own creations. tion is the sequel to the 2008 hit, In Th e Butcher, the Chef and the Swordsman, his 2010 breakout which was adapted from a classic fi lm that won him the Best Newcomer Award at Taiwan’s Golden tale of Qing Dynasty (1644-1911) Horse, he stirs up a vortex of styles that make many viewers dizzy literature. But the thread that with questions. “Isn’t the plump woman dressed in Japanese garb?” binds the two is slim at best as Absence brings out the Some asked. “No, that was inspired by the famous tri-colored the fox demon is the only char- glazed pottery from the Tang Dynasty (AD 618-907),” he replied. acter that is carried over. While best in Gardot’s voice Th e Painted Skin sequel, however, indeed has Japanese ele- the original is a family drama dis- Melody Gardot’s voice wanders ments. Wuershan hired a Japanese concept artist to come up guised as a thriller, the sequel is a between vulnerability and seductive- ness, though she never really takes side. with storyboards that more or less determined the visual style fantasy on a much larger scale. In her third studio album, Th e Absence, of the fi lm. From the beginning, he intended to create an “ori- The movie is anchored by the which will be released in China soon, ental fantasy” rather than a strictly Chinese one. same trio of stars who shine the Grammy-nominated American jazz “Fantasy is a genre that fi ts us. Asians have rich imagination brightly in their prime. Zhou Xun singer makes the best use of her voice and an abundant source of materials. With new technologies, reprises her role as the fox imp, and immersed in the cultures of Portugal, Argentina and Brazil, where she visited in some of these stories can be visualized on the big screen,” he says. having fi nished her 500 years of imprisonment in ice. Zhao Wei a protracted journey of musical discovery. Wuershan approaches stories in this kind of fi lm as allego- Th e 27-year-old also lends her voice to ries. “Th at’ll set you free in understanding the fi lm,” he says. is now a princess whose face is Edith Piaf’s iconic La Vie en Rose, a song Th at may also explain the stylized dialogue and action that partially scarred by a bear. Chen that holds a special place in her mind and some in the audience are uncomfortable with — in a domestic Kun is her childhood bodyguard imagination. It’s an inspiring song, just who is now assigned to a frontier like her connection with her guitar, when fi lm, that is, as a foreign fantasy benefi ts from the distance Gardot, a fashion student in Philadelphia already existing between the story and the viewer. post as a general. Their aff ection for each other is hindered by then, turned to music as therapy as she While young, Wuershan was an avid reader of philosophy, recovered from a traffi c accident that her physical imperfection, so to especially Friedrich Nietzsche. It seems natural that he would damaged her brain and fractured her pel- speak. want to embark on projects about heroes and superheroes. vis and spine. Now, the fox fairy needs a regu- — CHEN NAN “It’ll take time. We have lagged behind in every genre. I want lar diet of human hearts unless to push the romance fantasy to the extreme and then tackle someone volunteers to give his the superhero type.” Mid-summer music or hers in exchange for a life as festival in the outdoors Th ere is one bigger-than-life hero Wuershan, being an ethnic a non-human. Seeing her loved Mongolian, is destined to dream of bringing to screen. one’s attraction to the beauti- Beijing music fans will be able to enjoy “I started to research Genghis Khan when I was in high an outdoor music festival without driving ful fairy, the princess makes the hours to the outskirts or to another city. school,” he recalls. “He grew from an orphan to become the off er, after a short-term trial that Come Aug 18 and 19, Max Star Music conqueror of the world.” convinces her the man she longs Festival, will be held at Ditan Park, down- But the new king of Chinese box-offi ce record would not for cannot overcome the surface town Beijing. take up such a biopic right now as it’ll take time for him to of physical defect. Young pioneering music powers, such “deepen my knowledge of the subject”. To complicate matters, their as Milk & Coff ee and folk singer-song- fates are intertwined with politics writers Cao Fang and Hao Yun, as well Th e Painted Skin sequel took Wuershan two years to prepare as rock singer-songwriter Ma Tiao, will and shoot. “If I work 30 more years, I can turn out a dozen of because a menacing neigh- share the stage in the two-day event. these. By retirement age, I may wind down and make smaller bor insists on their off er of the Aft er visiting the music festival, guests movies that are more personal and even experimental in nature.” princess as a bride in return for can go to nearby Wudaoying hutong, With the increased competition from Hollywood, Wuershan peace. In the end, all three make which has a collection of shops, restau- has just one strategy: “Empty talk won’t change anything. You’ll a huge personal sacrifi ce for the rants and cafes. sake of love. Aug 18 and 19. Ditan Park, North have to take action and make good movies.” Second Ring Road. Yonghegong subway sta- RAYMOND ZHOU Scenes from Painted Skin: The Resurrection tion, Beijing. 400-818-3333. Contact the writer at [email protected]. — CHEN NAN